I woke up with a yawn, sitting up and rubbing my eyes groggily, as rays of sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtain, the air pleasantly cool. I love being able to wake up like this, all carefree and relaxed.
It's not something I'd ever take for granted after my previous life, it feels so good to be able to go to sleep without any worries. I then got out of bed and stretched my arms up with another yawn, before heading towards the bathroom.
Not that it's saying much, but this place is so much nicer than the apartment I lived in in my previous life. This is an apartment too, but it's in a pretty upscale building, there's even a pool and gym that the residents can use for free.
I'm eight years old now, and I've gotten pretty used to this life now. The current date is the 5th of October, 2003, I was born on the 6th of September, 1995.
The technology level of this world is similar to my old world at the same date, smartphones aren't really a thing yet, but touchscreen technology was introduced a few years ago, so it's probably not too far off.
I had been enrolled in a school for a couple of years, but I'm homeschooled now since things have gotten kinda dangerous here in the country we were living in, called Larisk.
And we were in the capital city of Sreeh, which was near the south border of the country. This country is run by a government with democratically elected presidents, and the most recently elected president is a pretty anti-Alter guy, so the tensions between regular humans and Alters are at an all time high here in Larisk.
Crime has been on a pretty heavy uptick, so my parents decided to pull me out of school and teach me at home instead. I certainly have no complaints about it, I'm thoroughly enjoying the abundance of free time on my hands.
As I splashed water onto my face, I glanced at my reflection, still not fully used to my new appearance. I had dark red hair with two black streaks down across the front, dark red eyes and pale skin.
I'm also pretty thin, not sure why though, because I eat a lot. I rarely ever got to eat my full in my previous life, so I've been eating quite heartily in this world.
Just like in my previous life, English is the most common language in this world, but my parents in this life have been trying to get me to learn other languages too.
As I result, I now understand bits and pieces of Arabic, Urdu, Tamil, Hindi and Sinhalese, the languages spoken here in the continent of Slinpa. I also know a bit of French, Spanish and Japanese.
I have to say, it's weird that the languages of this world have the same names as the languages in my old world, even though all the country and continent names are totally different.
Maybe the languages were introduced to this world by people who reincarnated here like I did. Yeah, this world is kind of a mess. Well, it doesn't really matter, I suppose.
Once I was done washing up and brushing my teeth, I headed out to the dining room, where breakfast was waiting for me. Mm, I smell pancakes, chocolate spread and strawberries...what a heavenly mixture of fragrances.
"Good morning, sleepyhead, you look like you slept well," Greeted my mother with a smile.
"Mhm, good morning," I replied with a lazy yawn, basking in the cool air conditioned room.
My mother, Jane Phoenix, she's in her early thirties I think, she has long, straight black hair, red eyes like mine and freckled skin. She's really kind and loving, but can be a bit scary at times.
"I think it's good, growing children need their sleep," My father remarked with a slight nod, as he watched the morning news.
Ray Phoenix, he's somewhere around his mid thirties, with thick, curly red hair, green eyes and a pale complexion. He's a pretty serious guy, but earnest and a good man.
I count myself lucky to have been born to parents like these two, I couldn't ask for more. I took a seat at the table with a gulp of anticipation, as I piled on the pancakes on my plate.
I dumped a generous glob of chocolate spread onto the pancakes, along with a large handful of chopped strawberries, before tearing apart the pancakes with my fork and mixing it all up together.
"Glad to see you enjoying your food, but maybe go a bit slower," Smiled my mother, using a napkin to wipe the corner of my mouth.
"Sorry, my bad," I grinned sheepishly.
"How awful...," Suddenly muttered my father, staring at the TV.
A news report of an attack on a pair of Alter kids was playing, one had been killed and the other was in critical condition, comatose in a hospital. What kind of people could do this to children?
No, that's a stupid question...I know exactly what kind of people are capable of such things, I'm all too familiar with such people.
"Turn it off, please," Frowned my mother, as she noticed me watching.
Right, I'm an eight year old, most people would probably consider this too dark and gruesome for someone my age to watch.
"The situation keeps getting worse, I wish there was more we could do," He replied with a grimace, switching off the TV.
"We don't want to attract too much unwanted attention...we can't afford to be reckless with our lives," Muttered my mother, subtly gesturing to me, my father nodding in response.
I'll pretend like I didn't notice, it'd probably be too perceptive for an eight year old.
I do admire them for how they've dedicated themselves to helping Alters, but yeah, I'd rather not end up an orphan again. I haven't met any of my relatives in this world, since they're in a completely different continent.
These two are effectively the only people in my life currently, and I've grown quite attached to and fond of them. I want this peaceful life to continue as it is, without any major disruptions. I don't think that's too much to ask for...
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